I Am Alive Is Apparently Still Alive

To give you an idea of how long it's been since we've heard anything of substance about Ubisoft's post-apocalyptic survival action game I Am Alive, the last news story we have on the site pertaining to the title is from January 2009. And it was written by Vinny.

Since that, what little news has leaked out around the web about the game has mostly had to do with its troubled development cycle. Original developer Darkworks was yanked from the project last year, with Ubisoft Shanghai taking over and effectively rebooting the title from scratch. At last word, the title was set to move from a full retail product to a downloadable title for Xbox Live Arcade and the PlayStation Network. But even that word was quite some time ago, and as E3 came and went with no updates on the game, the world simply assumed that it had gone the way of the dodo. And Beyond Good & Evil 2.

So color us surprised when news sprang forth this morning of a rating for I Am Alive by the Australian ratings board. Aussie ratings tend to come a lot earlier than ESRB ratings, so this doesn't mean the game is necessarily finished, but if it's been submitted for a rating (it was rated 15, by the way), that means that development continues, and that some manner of light at the end of the long tunnel can be seen.

The 15 rating comes primarily from a cautioning of "strong violence," which fits with the game's theme of survival amid a massive earthquake in the city of Chicago. At last check, the game was designed to be a fight to escape the city amid massive water shortages, roving gangs of looters, and continued destruction as the city collapses around you. But considering how long it's been since we last heard anything, for all we know, the game might have morphed into some kind of post-apocalyptic dating sim.

I guess we'll all find out together when Ubisoft finally gets around to showing this latest incarnation of I Am Alive to the world.

Oh yeah!

I'm not even trying anymore, but I'm gonna stop now and let someone else get this quest from now on. I have it like 3 times now.

i've started to completely forget about this game. every time i see the title, i think of You are Empty. 

I've been really exited for this game for a while now. I wonder if their forums are still up, and how many people frequent them... It always amazes me how many people will follow a forum for a game that there haven't been released much information on for years:-/ 

Not first :(

Hah! That's a nice joke Alex! Good one

Here's hoping for an LA Noire style "the development process of this game was fucked, but the game still ended up awesome somehow".

Haha Vinny written news articles

Johnny 5 was also alive despite many doubts. Will Fisher Stevens be in this game playing an ethnicity that he doesn't belong to? He is from Chicago....

@RE_Player92 said:

I bet this game will be bad.

Yeah pretty much. Really interesting concept, but I'm sure by now it's going to be a half-baked mess if they finally just push it out the door. There's certainly a reason why they haven't showed anything for a few years.

@Zero_ said:

Haha Vinny written news articles

Before GiantBomb had a news department. Oh the good old days.

@RE_Player92 said:

I bet this game will be bad.

Yup. Long development + switching teams.

This game is not looking good. Remember when Jade Raymond was tied to this game? 
 
That's when it was looking good.

I Am Alive and Beyond Good & Evil 2... these games will never come out.

@RE_Player92 said:

I bet this game will be bad.

Yup. Long development + switching teams.

i've started to completely forget about this game. every time i see the title, i think of You are Empty. 

Please be good 
please be good 
please be good! 

@tiwi said:

I've been really exited for this game for a while now. I wonder if their forums are still up, and how many people frequent them... It always amazes me how many people will follow a forum for a game that there haven't been released much information on for years:-/

Never underestimate the hardcore. Even for games that aren't out yet.

Please be good please be good please be good! 

I really hope this game gets completed. This concept has been really intriguing to me since I first heard about it!

Wait, two years after last word of it? Does that mean that we'll see an ESRB rating for the next Fire Emblem in 2012?

I have a feeling that I Am Alive is tied to Assassin's Creed. The trophy will the morse code name in Brotherhood translated to "I Am Alive," and I could easily imagine this being a side-story going on in Desmond's time once all that "end of the world" stuff catches up. And since Assassin's Creed has been stretched out, it wouldn't have made sense to release this before II or Brotherhood or whatever. It'd make more sense for I Am Alive to end on some crazy "OH GOD THIS HAS BEEN IN THE ASSASSIN'S CREED UNIVERSE THE WHOLE TIME" twist. Simple as meeting up with Desmond at the end, or seeing him jump a gap above you, or see an Assassin or Templar logo somewhere.

Just my little conspiracy theory.

on the game trailers E3 live stream they interviewed  Michel Ancel and he said that he was gonna wait for next gen consols to come out before he would work on beyond good and evil 2 

@coolalias said:

on the game trailers E3 live stream they interviewed Michel Ancel and he said that he was gonna wait for next gen consols to come out before he would work on beyond good and evil 2

no he said that they ARE still working on it (albeit with a very small team) and that he believes that the game is more appropriate for next generation consoles. he did not say that the is waiting for them and does not work on the game until they are out. that's quite a difference.

I read the Vinny article instead :P

I have no idea why Ubisoft kept this game going, or why there was any hype for it ever. It was a neat pre-rendered trailer and idea, but besides that it has been little more than vaporware. I really hope there is a hook to it that separates it from the pack.

@whatisdelicious said:

I have a feeling that I Am Alive is tied to Assassin's Creed. The trophy will the morse code name in Brotherhood translated to "I Am Alive," and I could easily imagine this being a side-story going on in Desmond's time once all that "end of the world" stuff catches up. And since Assassin's Creed has been stretched out, it wouldn't have made sense to release this before II or Brotherhood or whatever. It'd make more sense for I Am Alive to end on some crazy "OH GOD THIS HAS BEEN IN THE ASSASSIN'S CREED UNIVERSE THE WHOLE TIME" twist. Simple as meeting up with Desmond at the end, or seeing him jump a gap above you, or see an Assassin or Templar logo somewhere.

Just my little conspiracy theory.

that would be so cool! :-D

Man, I would kill for a post-apocalyptic dating sim...

I was really disappointed when this was rumoured to be dead, hope it turns out well. Some of the concepts seemed really interesting, I'd much rather get a broken unique game than a postapocalyptic third person shooter.

Huh. Just thought of the Portal ending song when I read the title. Have no idea what this is.

They thought about a post-earthquake Detroit for location but came to realize that would just be a Detroit simulator.

This game has concepts that seem genuinely interesting. However, development hell plus years of not knowing much at all plus only one trailer with in-game footage makes me suspicious. Hopefully there will be some gameplay to look at soon. 

This game could have been original and interesting back when it was originally announced, but since that time, we've gone through a slew of post apocalyptic U.S. locales, as well as all sorts of survival scenarios, I couldn't care about this game any less.

I hope this game gets released eventually...  I was a bit intrigued by the premise when I saw the first trailer...

I really hope this is the next great game series, on par with Assassin's.

All that Vinny article did was depress me. I wish Vinny had more time to write reviews and articles.

Although I remember being really excited when this game was first announced (and I think the concept could still make for a great game, if done well), I just can't help but feel that this game, if it ever does see the light of day, won't be worth all of the time and effort that went into it (see Duke Nukem Forever).

That title is not up to your usual standards Navarro. I am dissapointed.

@XicoNando said:

Man, I would kill for a post-apocalyptic dating sim...

So now I'm just curious. Why is the Australian ratings board significantly faster than the ESRB. Do they require less material to determine a rating ("this screenshot looks like an MA15")? Do they have less stuff to rate? Or is the fact they are also the Film ratings board mean they have a larger staff?

And damn, here I was thinking that I Am Alive would somehow be crossed with Portal.

Sweet! I'm glad to hear this is finally coming out, although it would be a miracle if it turns out how I hopped. 

I'm interested in seeing how it turned out, but I don't have high hopes for this. Good games rarely go dark like this for so long. If it's being submitted for a rating by our Classification board, it must be sort-a complete. So why haven't we heard anything about it? Obviously Ubisoft doesn't want to give it too much publicity, and that's never a good sign. If a publisher has little confidence in a game, why should we?

I feel like a concept like this would only work if it had done the fallout option and added some fantastical element (such as radiation being permanent or strange gene changing viruses sweeping the wastelands) but I'm eager to see how this turns out.

I can't wait for this game to come out.  If it has more survival elements than combat ones, it'll definitely be one for me to get.
 
For some reason this game feels like a mix of mirror's edge and fallout 3/stalker (platforming perhaps + survival)

Alive and kicking I see!

The fact that it's Made in China will keep me from buying it.

This is the first time I have heard abot this game.